Notes From All Over -- Part 1 -- October 26, 2020

PSA: if your state's department of natural resources wants to visit your land for some reason, here's a suggested response. From a reader. Thank you.

Politics: I'm not following the news, and I don't watch network or cable television except for sports and old movies, but what little I see on twitter suggests more going on behind the scenes than being reported. First of all, in this clip, Jill Biden seems resigned to the fact her husband is "losing it." I may be wrong, but she certainly seems tired and/or uninterested. Remember, this is a political ad or a political event of some sort and she should be showing incredible enthusiasm. Second, where is Hillary? No matter how angry she is about how this all played out, she detests Trump and one would think she would be on the campaign trail doing her best to defeat him. And, finally, the former president? Belatedly, he finally did one ad for Joe Biden. And that was it. 

Probably the same story in the US: trucking provides rare boost to Europe oil demand. Link at Bloomberg via Rigzone:

Europe may still be mired in a deep economic slump, but the region’s truck drivers are hauling bumper volumes of goods across the continent as online shopping surges, offering a rare boost to oil demand.

Girteka Logistics, owner of Europe’s largest fleet of trucks, said it will deliver about 800,000 full loads this year, up about 10% on 2019. The company has more than 7,000 vehicles, moving everything from ice cream to electronics.

The freight surge is being driven by a boom in e-commerce during the coronavirus outbreak, said Kristian Kaas Mortensen, director of strategic partnerships at Girteka. While individuals have had their movement limited by virus restrictions, the Vilnius, Lithuania-based firm has been hauling bumper volumes of consumer goods, food and pharmaceuticals, often for home consumption.

“The money that is not going to Spain on vacation, or on a business trip, is going to another spending,” said Mortensen. “That happens to be a spending that benefits the transport patterns we are operating in.”

Third world state: PG&E cuts power to hundreds of thousands. Again. Link at The WSJ. Hard to charge your Teslas with no electricity. By the way, hard to fill your gasoline tanks when the electric pumps aren't working.

PG&E Corp. said it was pre-emptively cutting power to about 361,000 customers in northern and central California in an effort to prevent wildfires, marking the largest such shut-off it has reported this year.

The San Francisco-based utility started the shut-offs Sunday morning by de-energizing electrical lines in the Northern Sierra region, and then continued in other areas ranging from the San Francisco suburbs to wine country to small rural towns. The blackouts affect customers in portions of 36 counties where a forecast windstorm and dry humidity levels pose a high risk of causing active power lines to spark catastrophic wildfires.

PG&E said it would check its power lines for damage and begin turning power back on after the storm subsides, with service expected to be restored for most customers within 12 daylight hours after the severe weather ends.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site.  Do not make any investment, financial, job, career, travel, or relationship decisions based on what you read here or think you may have read here.

ATT: over at SeekingAlpha.

• investors should ignore AT&T debt, as its FCF has remained incredibly strong
• the company's fiber and HBO Max businesses have continued to perform well and have significant growth potential
• the company has a 7.5% dividend yield at a high-50%'s payout ratio. That cash flow points to strong long-term shareholder returns